Cruxis Corporation
by CruxisKat
Summary: Set in a universe where Martel didn't die, would the world really be a better place? How Kratos and Anna meet in this business oriented world... should get better as it progresses
1. Chapter 1

This is my first story, sorry if it stinks. I hope that I will get better with each chapter...

**Cruxis Corporation**

The sun rose slowly over the crystal shimmering waters of Lake Sinoa, shining its light upon the inhabitants of Luin. Among the early rising inhabitants was Anna Irving, a beautiful young woman who just recently entered the job market. She was sitting on the balcony of her parents' house, drinking a hot mug of coffee and reading from the Luin Free Press. She fervently scans today's newspaper looking for job advertisements. Unfortunately there are no jobs posted at all, in fact recently businesses have had to start pushing people away because there are so many people looking for work and so few job openings.

"Just my luck!" Anna exclaims after finishing reading the classified section of her newspaper. "There have been no new job openings anywhere in Luin for two years in a row now! It looks like I should pack my bags and see if Palmacosta is any better…"

"Who are you talking to Anna?" asks one of Anna's old high school friends who was standing on the path beside the balcony where Anna was sitting.

"Ah! Emily, I didn't see you standing there." exclaimed Anna as she choked on her coffee.

"Hehehe, I realized that by the way you jumped." Laughed Emily, "Anyway were you looking for work again in the paper?"

"Yeah, I look every day but there never is one…" replied Anna, "I have been thinking of moving to Palmacosta and see if there is anyone hiring there."

"I wouldn't count on it; I hear that there is no work available anywhere in Sylvarant." remarked Ashley, another of Anna's school friends who was just passing by.

"Good morning Ashley!" chirped Emily.

"Oh, hello Ashley," said Anna, "you heard that as well?"

"Yes, it seems that there are too many people looking for work and not enough workers needed, unless of course you are looking for work in a Desian ranch…"

"You know I hate the Desians." replied Anna.

"Is Cruxis looking for employees?" asked Emily.

"Of course not! That heartless corporation never hires anyone!" growled Ashley, "I even hear that they don't let their current employees leave the building, that's why no one knows anything about what Cruxis does."

"It's too bad, that is such a big corporation I'm sure if they would open their doors to the ordinary people that would solve the current job problem." remarked Anna.

"You don't want a job from those posers! They think that they can get money and other things if they take the name of the group of angels who serve the goddess Martel, they make me sick." Spat Ashley.

"You shouldn't say such mean things about people you don't know!" insisted Emily, "they could just be trying to make an honest living."

"Yes, that's why they insist on secrecy all the time, never letting anyone in past the receptionist on the ground floor, no one has a clue what they really do in there, they could be just as bad, or worse then the Desians with their human experiments!" exclaimed Ashley.

"No one could be worse then the Desians." stated Anna matter-of-factly.

"Well, whatever, if you are going to be moving to Palmacosta I have a cousin who has a little house he is planning on renting out, he was planning on getting two or three people in there, I'm sure he would let you if I told him about you. That is as long as you can stand living with me for a little while." said Ashley.

"You were going to go to university in Palmacosta this year right?" asked Anna, "I would love to live with you in Palmacosta! That would be great! Thank you very much Ashley!"

"Do you think that there is room for me to move in?" asked Emily timidly.

"Of course, you would be most welcome."

"Thank you all very much for coming here and talking to me this early morning, but unfortunately I have to clean the house today and do some other little chores, but I will speak to you perhaps later this afternoon to confirm living with you all in Palmacosta." said Anna as she folded her newspaper and picked up her empty coffee mug and made to leave.

"See you later Anna!" said Emily as she waved goodbye.

"Yes, I will come by your place later this afternoon. Goodbye." said Ashley with a bow.

With that the three friends parted ways, Anna going inside her house and her two friends traveling in opposite directions down the street.


	2. Chapter 2

Um...Thanks for the reviews. I forgot to do the disclaimer in the last chapter, so here it is: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, nor any of its characters or locations or anything... So there! I hope that this will start making a bit more sense... I would love to hear back from anyone who reads this...

**Chapter Two**

"Kratos! Hey! Kratos pay attention!"

"What? Oh, sorry Yuan, could you repeat what you were saying?" said a tall auburn haired man as he snapped out of his train of thought.

"Honestly, this is the thirteenth time I've caught you spacing out this morning! Do you know what would happen if Mithos or Martel caught you like this?" scolded Yuan as he sat down on a plush sofa in the lounge across from Kratos.

"Yes, I know both of them would start some long speech about how I should be setting a good example for all the other Cruxis employees by paying attention and doing my work instead of zoning out." Sighed Kratos as he adjusted the pile of paper work he was filling out, "you would think that after four thousand years they would realize that no one is listening to their speeches and stop giving them…"

"Indeed" chuckled Yuan, brushing the loose strands of blue hair out of his face, "anyway, I was just informing you that the worker who was sent to investigate Luin came back early with a knife wound to the chest, he will live, but because of that injury we are lacking data for that region."

"So you want me to go and collect that data?" asked Kratos with an eyebrow raised.

"Precisely." Stated Yuan nodding his head slightly, "You are expected back at headquarters tomorrow at twenty-one hundred hours, understood?"

"Understood." Replied Kratos as he put his paperwork in his black briefcase and stood up. Kratos then turned and began to head towards the nearest elevator.

"Don't go goofing off now that you get to go outside, you still have to do your job you know!" called Yuan from his place on the couch as Kratos entered the elevator.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" said Kratos with a smile as the silver elevator doors closed. His smile remained as his descent continued and only vanished when the elevator landed on the ground floor of the Cruxis Corporation main headquarters in downtown Palmacosta. He made his way toward the main entrance and left the building with a quick nod to the front desk secretary. Squinting in the early morning sunlight Kratos made his way towards a sleek white van with the Cruxis symbol on it that was parked out front. He unlocked the door using his master key and climbed in. After putting his briefcase on the passenger seat, securing his seat belt, and adjusting his mirrors he was off on his way toward the city of water, Luin.


	3. Chapter 3

here is another chapter, I tried to make it a little longer then the last one, but it is still kind of short... thanks for the reviews, if you want to chat with me about the story or anything at all just give me a shout, I would love to hear from you. Anyway, as I said in the previous chapter: I do not own Tales of Symphonia nor any of the characters, but some of the characters I did make up, Like Bill. That goes for the rest of the story as well, so I'm not going to waste my time writing it again and again, this is the last time.

On with the story!

**Chapter Three**

Sighing for what seemed like the fiftieth time this morning; Anna Irving finished washing the dishes and began her task of drying and putting them away. It had been three days since her friends had found her searching for a job and decided that they would move to Palmacosta to continue the job hunt. In those three days nothing eventful happened to Anna, she continued doing her daily chores and packed her bags so she and her friends could head down to Palmacosta the next week.

Something eventful did happen just the other day in the city of Luin however. One of Anna's neighbors had attacked a member of Cruxis who had been surveying the land near her house. Anna was very surprised when she heard about that, she was starting to believe that there was no such thing as a Cruxis employee. She didn't really know what had happened, but she knew that the person who had started the attack was called Crazy Bill and was well know for being not mentally stable.

'_I wonder what Cruxis will do now? They won't just leave Luin alone now, not after that outright resistance…_' thought Anna as she put the last dish away in the cupboard. '_Well, I just hope that the Desians don't try to increase their influence in Luin because they take this attack as an act of rebellion against them._'

"Anna, do you think you could go and get the groceries today?" asked Anna's father as he came down the wooden stairs and peered into the kitchen.

"Sure, I'll head out right now since I just finished the dishes."

"Great, there is some money for them on the desk in the living room." said Anna's father as he straightened his tie and put on his shoes to head out to his work, "have a good day, see you this evening."

"Bye Dad, have a good day too!" said Anna giving her father a small hug as he left.

As she was walking to the supermarket she spotted something out of place on the end of her street, there was a new looking white van with tinted windows parked on the corner. As she got closer she heard some shouting going on, it sounded like Crazy Bill was chewing out some kids who walked on his lawn again. She quickened her pace and decided she would tell him to stop picking on the poor kids who didn't know to stay away from his house.

As she made her way past the tall evergreens that separated Bill's yard from the Johnson's property she noticed that the white van was parked in front of his yard. As she walked past it she saw this strange symbol on the side of it and she vaguely remembered seeing that symbol or one similar to it on one of the Holy Scriptures in the church of Martel.

"I'm telling you, I'm not going to steal your land, all I am doing is surveying the land and doing some tests." came an angry voice from behind the van that was definitely not the voice of a terrified child.

"Get off my land, you stinkin' Desian!" yelled Crazy Bill, brandishing his wooden cane in the direction of the "Desian". Anna turned and saw a tall auburn haired man in a white business suit.

"I told you, I'm a member of Cruxis, not a Desian" growled the man who was quickly losing his patience, "all I need is a sample of water from your tap and then I will be gone." Anna looked from Bill to the man and decided that the man wasn't making a ridiculous request.

"Bill, it doesn't sound like he is asking very much, why don't you just let him do the tests and go?" asked Anna.

Both Crazy Bill and the Cruxis employee looked over at her, Bill with a scowl and the other man with a look of boredom.

"Why should I?! This stinkin' Desian just wants to steal my land! I was born and raised here and I ain't givin' it up without a fight!" shouted Bill swinging his cane wildly at both Anna and the unknown man.

"For the thousandth time, I am not trying to steal your land." Said the man shaking his head.

"Just let him do the tests, he clearly has no interest in stealing your land, so why not just let him do them?!" Anna asked with her voice raised.

"…fine!" growled Bill, "but he better get out of here once there finished!" Bill then went inside his house to get a cup of water for the Cruxis worker.

Turning to Anna the man smiled and said, "Thank you for your help just now; I'm Kratos Aurion, a member of Cruxis."

"Anna Irving," said Anna with a mini curtsy, "it's a pleasure to meet you Kratos."

"The pleasure is all mine." Replied Kratos as he gave a little bow.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out… I just got the new Pokemon Diamond game and am totally engrossed in that…it is so much fun… Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them. Anyway here is the chapter, I hope that you all like it.

**Chapter Four**

Anna Irving had many things planed to do today, but now those plans were the last things on her mind. She thought that when she to show a Cruxis employee around Luin it would be quick and easy, how wrong she was. This 'Kratos Aurion' had her stop at every house in the whole town and help him convince the residents to give him a water sample. This would have been easy for a small village like Hima, but Luin was larger than Hima, a lot larger.

She had first met Kratos fairly early in the morning, now it was getting pretty late into the afternoon and she still hadn't gotten the groceries for her father. She had spent most of the day helping this strange man she just recently met; she didn't know why she was helping him or even why he needed the water samples. In fact she didn't really know anything about him other then his name…

"Hey, Kratos, what exactly do you need these water samples anyway?"

Kratos paused in his task of putting the newly obtained vials of water away inside the back of the van and looked over to where Anna was standing next to him on the curb. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment then shook his head, "I'm sorry, that is classified information so I'm afraid I can't say."

Anna looked disappointed for a few seconds. "Well, what can you tell me about Cruxis and the reason you are doing these tests here?" asked Anna with a smile on her face and her hands on her hips.

With a frown Kratos looked at her, shook his head, and began labeling and putting the vials of water away again. He had finished collecting samples from over three-quarters of Luin's residents, now all he needed to do was get samples of the five or so rural residents who lived in the area. He could do that on his way back to Palmacosta.

"So you really can't tell me anything?"

"So it would seem…" trailed Kratos as he finished putting the water away and closed the back doors on his van.

Anna moved a little closer to him once the doors were closed and looked at him with a frown on her face. "You aren't really listening to me, are you?" she said crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Kratos turned to face her, "sorry, I was a little preoccupied, but I was still listening to you." He scratched the back of his head out of nervousness and embarrassment. Anna looked at him with a smile and laughed gently.

"That's ok, where do you need to go now? I think we have been all over Luin by now…" said Anna as she looked around the downtown area surrounding them.

"I believe that I have gotten all the samples I need from Luin, thank you very much for your assistance, it was greatly appreciated. I must be returning to Palmacosta, it was a pleasure meeting you, I hope that we get to meet again in the future." said Kratos as he held out his hand.

Anna shook his hand with a big smile and said, "Yes, I really hope we get to meet again. Have a good drive back to Palmacosta!"

Kratos climbed back into the white Cruxis van and gave Anna a small wave as he drove off.


	5. Chapter 5

I had some time this morning to do some writing, so here is the next chapter. I hope that this one is better than the other ones and sorry again for the shortness of it and the others, I didn't realize how short they really were until today, they looked a lot longer before I sent them in… I hope this one is a bit longer. Thank you all for reading this and reviewing, seeing your reviews make me really happy and they really encourage me to keep writing this. Um…I don't know when the next chapter will be out, maybe tomorrow, maybe not… the only real reason I got this much done was because I drank lots of coffee this morning… hehehe coffee is so good…

Anyway, on with the story!

**Chapter five**

The Elemental Cargo train ride down to the capital city of Palmacosta went by quicker then Anna had expected. She had thought that it would take them about two days to get from Luin to Palmacosta, but with the newly developed E.C. train system they arrived in Palmacosta after only half a day of travel. The ride down was also very smooth, it was nothing like the first E.C. train ride Anna had taken; this was a lot nicer and way more comfortable. It was so comfortable in fact that Anna had found herself sleeping through the whole trip!

Anna yawned widely as she and her two best friends gathered their luggage and got off the train. Anna was dressed in a light blue tank top and a long darker blue skirt that went just past her knee. Her long brown hair swayed as she reached up to grab her purse that was stored in the overhead compartment. Her friends were dressed in similar summer attire, Emily had her short blonde hair tucked behind her ears and was wearing a red tie-dye tee-shirt and a long orange-brown skirt that reached the floor, and Ashley with her shoulder length black hair tied up in a ponytail was wearing dark blue jeans and a white spaghetti strap top underneath a pale blue denim jacket.

They climbed off the cool air-conditioned train into the hot crowded platform and began looking for Ashley's cousin who had agreed to pick them up and take them to their new house. Spotting him standing near the back of the crowd holding up a simple cardboard sign that said "Simon" on it in big block letters, Anna signaled to her friends and began weaving her way through the crowd towards him.

"There you are Jeremy, you were so far back I wouldn't have recognized you after all these years if you didn't have the sign!" laughed Anna as she shook his hand, "it's good to see you again!"

"It's good to see all of you again too; I almost didn't recognize you as well. How long has it been since the last time we met? Five years? That is much too long, I'm glad to see you and be able to help you during this difficult time." Said Jeremy as he shook both Anna's and Emily's hands and helped them with their luggage.

"It has been far too long since you left Luin, you should have come and visited us for a while in Luin" said Emily as she took his hand.

"Yeah, Yeah, enough of the small talk, let's get out of here, I'm starting to get claustrophobic." Said Ashley with a large smile that betrayed her harsh tone of voice.

"Yes, of course, please follow me, Ashley let me carry that bag for you…" replied Jeremy as he grabbed hold of the handle of Ashley's large black suitcase, "wow, this is heavy, what do you have in here? Bricks?"

"No, that one has my photo equipment in it." she replied as she rearranged the large duffle bag that was hanging from her shoulder. She then reached out and began helping Anna carry one of her two large brown bags.

"Still planning on becoming a newspaper photographer?" asked Jeremy as they made their way off the platform toward the E.C. parking lot.

"You know it," said Ashley with a grin, "are we all going to fit in you little personal E.C.?" she asked looking around the full E.C. lot.

"No, I rented an E.C. van to take us to the house, it may not be the latest model, but it should hold all of us and all this luggage." He said as they stopped behind a large black van. Taking out a key, Jeremy opened the back door and began loading the suitcases on board.

When all the suitcases were in he closed the back door and unlocked the rest of the doors so they could all get in. When they were all inside Jeremy started it up and began driving them to their new house in the suburbs of Palmacosta. After a little more then five minutes of driving through midday traffic he pulled into the driveway of a medium size white house with a waist high hedge surrounding the front lawn.

"This is it?" asked Anna, Jeremy looked at her through the rearview mirror and nodded with a smile. "It looks wonderful!" she exclaimed peering out the side window to get a better look at it, "thank you so much for letting us stay here."

"No problem, I am much more willing to rent it out to you three that I know and trust then some complete strangers who could just plan on turning it into a grow-op." He said smiling at the three of them as they were craning their necks to get a better look at the place they would call home. He finally came to a complete stop and turned off the engine in the driveway. The three girls couldn't get out fast enough, they all climbed out and began walking around the house and peering through its windows.

Jeremy walked up to the front door with one of the girls' suitcase in his hand and unlocked and opened the front door. He put the bag just inside the door and went back to the van to grab another. The women quickly followed suit and soon they had put all of the luggage inside and were taking a tour of the house.

"On the ground floor is the kitchen, living room, dining room, and a bathroom, upstairs there are three bedrooms and a larger bathroom, and in the basement there is another smaller bathroom and a fairly large wreck room. There is already a refrigerator and oven in the kitchen, there is also a large freezer and a washer and dryer pair downstairs in the basement. All the washrooms have showers in them, except the basement one, which just has a toilet and a sink. The bedrooms are all about the same size and they all have beds and blankets on them already. You can take a look in the rooms and decide who should sleep where, everything is ready to go, and all you need to do is pick up some groceries and kitchenware." Jeremy told them as he showed them around the house, "there is a table and four chairs already in the dining room and a couch and a rocking chair in the living room. If you need anything else you are going to have to buy it, any questions?"

"Will we get the newspaper delivered here?" asked Anna as she stopped looking around the house and turned to him.

"Yes, it will be delivered every day, but if you are looking for work you might have better luck finding work if you actually go into the businesses around town and see were there are any openings that way. Even if there aren't it would be good to go in and drop off a resume." said Jeremy with a shrug, "that was how I got my job."

"Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to do that!" replied Anna with a big grin on her face.

"I'm sure you all have a lot to do to get this place ready, so I'm going to go and leave that to you, I'll see you tomorrow to see if you need any help with anything." said Jeremy as he made his way back to the rental van.

The three women followed him and bade him farewell as he hopped into the van and began to drive away. They waved as he drove away into the busy city of Palmacosta.


	6. Chapter 6

Hooray! I finished another chapter! Finally! Hehehe, I was lazy this weekend and didn't do any writing, sorry about the wait. This is longer than the others, so hopefully it is worth the wait. I didn't think I would be able to type anything today, but apparently if I bake cookies I can easily write another chapter. Yes, I did this while waiting for my cookies to finish cooking. They are really good cookies too, chocolate chip. If I could I would give everyone who reads my story a cookie, and everyone who reads it and reviews TWO cookies! And some milk to dip them in…

Unfortunately the rest of the week isn't looking so good for me getting chapters out… I'm going to be going down to Squamish British Columbia, Canada soon, as in Friday morning, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get more up soon. I'll try my best! As always please review, I really appreciate it, and thank you to everyone who has been reviewing. It makes me really happy. :)

**Chapter 6**

It had been a little less than a week since Anna and her two school friends had moved to Palmacosta. The three had managed to finish unpacking and organizing their new house and they were finally beginning to resume their normal daily life. They had used the age old method of "rock-paper-scissors" in order to decide who go which room, in the end Anna had ended up with the room farthest from the stairs beside Emily, and Ashley had got the one across from the two. All the bedrooms were about the same size and they all had the same things inside them to begin with so no one was complaining.

For the past few days Anna had been using the Palmacosta newspaper to see if there were any jobs available; however, the job section looked as bad, or even worse than the one in Luin. Every morning before getting started on unpacking, Anna would read the paper, and very quickly she would become discouraged by what she saw, she only hoped that if she tried going into the businesses she would get a more welcoming response. She had picked ten places that didn't specifically say "if you are looking for work don't come here" that she planned to visit in the next few days to see about getting hired. She had finished writing several copies of her résumé and was quite pleased by the way it turned out.

Today was the first day of the work week, the perfect time to head out into the big city and see about joining the work force. Anna was busy making herself some breakfast, a cup of freshly brewed coffee and two pieces of peanut butter and strawberry jam toast. Setting it on the table in front of where she would be sitting, Anna made her way to the front door where she knew the daily paper would be sitting on the welcome mat just outside. She picked it up and returned to her breakfast after closing the door.

She sat herself down and began to munch on her toast. Between bites she opened the paper and began to read through it. As she was finishing her first piece of toast Ashley made her way into the kitchen looking disheveled.

"Good morning!" came Anna's cheerful welcome.

Ashley responded with a grunt and started rubbing her eyes as she made her way over to the coffeepot. She filled up her cup and put five big scoops of sugar and a little cream in it, taking it and a spoon she made her way into the dining room and sat down across from Anna. She then began to alternate stirring her coffee and slowly slipping it. There came a small 'thump' from the stairs, and looking over Anna saw Emily making her way to the kitchen while leaning heavily on the wall.

"Good morning sleeping beauty!" laughed Anna as she saw Emily fall over and begin crawling towards the coffeepot. Anna knew that both of them were not the best morning people, but after these past few days they had agreed to get up when Anna did just for the wonderful coffee she made. Well, they tried to get out of bed, but it looked like Emily was trying to take her bed with her, she still had her blankets wrapped around her; that was probably why she had fallen, the blankets were woven between her legs and were trailing up the stairs. Anna hoped that they weren't dragging the mattress down with them…

Emily gave a feeble "good morning" as she climbed up the counter to get a mug and some of the elixir of life, coffee. After finishing 'doctoring' up her coffee by putting no less than six heaping spoonfuls of sugar into it and filling it all the way to the brim by adding cream, she made her way to the table taking extra care not to spill her treasure. Sitting down next to Anna she took a few sips from her cup then put her head down on the table to try to get a bit more sleep. Unfortunately Anna, being the only morning person in the group, had different plans. Poking Emily in the side to make sure she was awake, not that she got much of a response, Anna quickly began trying to have a coherent conversation with both her and Ashley.

"What are your plans for today?" Anna looked at both of them expectantly, when neither seemed able to respond she continued, "All of our stuff is unpacked, but we could use some groceries, could one of you go out and pick some up today?"

After the two sleepyheads glanced at each other Ashley spoke up, "fine, I'll get them this afternoon, do we just need the basics, or do you have a list?" The last part was mumbled into her coffee cup and was barely audible.

Giggling at her sleepiness Anna pulled a piece of paper out of her jean pocket and passed it to her, "yep, here is a list of what we need, thank you for volunteering!" Grinning Anna finished her coffee and got up to put her plate and her empty mug in the sink, "I trust that you will take care of the dishes while Ashley is at the store, right Emily?"

Emily gave a nervous look and nodded to Anna, "you can count on me…"

"Great, I'm going to head out now, I'm going to be looking for work today but I should be back before five o'clock. I trust that you two can manage?" said Anna as she put her shoes on by the front door and peered over to where the two were sitting. After seeing them nod to her and wish her good luck she opened the door and stepped out into the warm morning sunlight.

She had her résumé's with her as she began walking toward the downtown area of Palmacosta. She would walk for five minutes to the nearest E.C. bus stop where she would get onboard the number six which would take her right to the heart of Palmacosta. She checked her wristwatch to make sure she wasn't late as she arrived at the sign that marked the location of the bus stop. It was just two minutes before nine which meant she had two minutes to catch her breath before the bus arrived. As she waited she noticed two other people come to the bus stop. Both were men, one had black hair and the other had reddish brown hair. Wait, she knew that man with reddish hair! It was that 'Cruxis worker' again! Smiling Anna moved closer to him and peeked over to see the piece of paper he was reading. Not being able to make out what it said she decided to see where he was headed to.

"Hello, fancy meeting you again!" she said cheerfully. Unfortunately the man she was talking to didn't respond at all, but she did get a confused look out of the man with the black hair and crooked tie. Frowning Anna came closer and waved as she said, "Hey, you, can you hear me? You with the red hair!"

"Hm? Are you speaking to me?" responded Kratos at last looking up from his reading, giving a confused look to Anna. After a few seconds a look of comprehension dawned on his face, "oh, it's you. Hello. I didn't think I would see you again."

"Are you disappointed? Well, I didn't think I would see you either!" replied Anna, frowning at first, and then smiling at him. She didn't get to say anything else to him though because just at that moment the bus decided to show up. All three of the people climbed in; the man with black hair going first and he put some change in the box, Kratos went in second and he flashed some kind of card at the driver, Anna went in last and she also dropped some coins into the box. She turned and saw that the three of them were the only ones on the bus, besides the bus driver. She walked quickly down the narrow isle and sat down next to Kratos in the back half of the bus.

"Sorry about not responding earlier, I didn't think anyone would talk to me and I was engrossed in reading something." said Kratos with a small smile.

"That's ok, I can understand. So, what were you doing out here? Shouldn't you be back at Cruxis?"

"I was doing some more testing in this area, but I'm heading back to Cruxis right now."

"So you really do work for Cruxis?" asked Anna tilting her head to get a better look at him.

"Of course. You didn't believe me before?" replied Kratos turning his head in her direction.

"I believed you, but it's kind of hard to think of actually meeting and speaking to someone from that place."

"I see. Is that what everyone else you know thinks as well?" he asked folding his arms and nodding his head.

Anna blushed then said, "Yes, pretty much everyone I know thinks that way, one of them is a bit more outspoken though. Everyone thinks of Cruxis as this big place that no one can go in and no one can come out, it is hard to imagine anyone actually working there…"

"I see. Well, thank you for your input in this matter. I will be sure to mention it to some others at Cruxis. Maybe we can make Cruxis seem a bit friendlier…" said Kratos looking out the window. He then reached up and pulled this cord that ran across the top of the window. As he pulled it a 'dinging' sound rang through the bus and the bus slowly came to a stop. "It was good to see you again; maybe we will meet another time."

"This is your stop?" asked Anna, a little disappointed that he was leaving so soon.

"Yes" said Kratos as he got up "have a good day, good luck with the job hunt."

"Thank you. You have a good day too!" yelled Anna softly as Kratos got off the bus. As the bus started moving again Anna turned and waved to him out the window. '_Wait a minute, how did he know I was looking for work?! I don't remember tell him…_' Anna looked startled and craned her neck to see if she could see Kratos, she saw him just as he went inside this enormous building. _'Wait, was that all one building? It was huge!'_ It looked like there were several large buildings surrounding this monstrous skyscraper. The Skyscraper was so tall! It looked like it went right up to heaven too! How could such a big building exist? Anna was thoroughly amazed, she saw one word just above the doors Kratos disappeared into that answered all of her questions about it '_Cruxis_'.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, sorry this took so long to make, I hope that it was worth the wait. I don't know when the next chapter will be out, I'm going to be working and I won't have as much time to write as I did before, I also don't know how often I will be able to get online either. But I hope that this chapter is enjoyable and that people actually read it…Thanks again for the reviews…

**Chapter Seven**

Kratos strode purposefully through the Cruxis front lobby, making his way towards the door labeled "Employees' only". He gave a quick nod in greeting to the single desk clerk as he walked passed and disappeared into the dim lights beyond the door. His eyes quickly adjusted from the bright sunlight that was streaming into the lobby from the large windows to the dim lights of the office. As he made his way through the sea of cubicles to the elevators located in the back of the building, he gave a small smile to any of the hundreds of workers who happened to glance his way. He got about halfway through the hundreds of cubicles before a seemingly young woman with a white lab coat and shoulder length dark grey hair came over to him. He kept walking towards the elevators and she quickly matched his pace.

"Good day Lord Kratos" said the woman bowing her head slightly towards him.

"Hello Kathleen" replied Kratos, "I'm surprised to see you down here, usually people of your station do not associate themselves with the lesser workers on the ground floor…" She turned her head to the side to try to hide the faint blush that was forming on her pale skin. She muttered something that was barely audible and seeing her reaction Kratos gave a small laugh.

"I-I came here because I had heard you had gotten back from collecting data from the Southern Palmacosta region. As the head of the third floor environmental research group it is my responsibility to get that data back to the lab." She said, still trying to hide her embarrassment for being caught on one of the lower floors.

"It is alright for you to be here, as long as you don't go revealing anything. It is also fine for you to show some emotion, it is encouraged that you show a little personality at least while you are on the ground floor anyway…" Kratos replied as they approached the elevator doors. He pushed the button with the up arrow on it and turned back to Kathleen. He held his black briefcase out for her to grab, "I have your data right here, I hope that it helps."

She took the briefcase from him just as the door to the elevator opened. She gave him a small "thank you" and got on the elevator with him. She pushed the '3' button and moved out of the way so Kratos could make his selection. He pushed the one at the very top labeled '50' and moved to stand on Kathleen's right. The door closed and the elevator began its ascent. "This data will hopefully give us insight into the effects of Mana deprivation…"

"Yes, but more important than the effects are the causes, and what may be done to stop it."

"O-Of coarse My Lord."

"You really need to get more comfortable talking to me, you have gotten better, but you could still improve, especially since you are the highest rank on the third floor…" said Kratos with a small smile. The elevator then gave a soft 'ding' as it came to a stop on the third floor. "Well, I suppose this is farewell, good luck with your research."

"Y-Yes, goodbye Lord Kratos." She said as she gave him a bow and left the elevator. Kratos watched her as she disappeared around a corner at the end of the little hall the elevator stopped on. The doors closed slowly and the elevator continued on up to the fiftieth floor.

It took the elevator a little over five minutes to reach the fiftieth floor; Kratos wished that they had put a warp pad on the lower floors instead of the elevators so the trip would have been faster, but he understood the logic behind having the elevators there. If the rest of Sylvarant had only elevators so should Cruxis, at least to the fiftieth floor. Kratos was out of the elevator and halfway down the hall before the elevator door opened all the way, today he was feeling a bit impatient since it had taken him all night to finish collection samples and data from the Southern part of Palmacosta. Ever since he filled in for the injured employee he had been sent out more often to do the tests, some of these tests were not very pleasant, such as collecting fecal samples to find out what the population was eating.

Kratos quickened his pace as he came within sight of the warp pad. At his approach the two people standing guard over it snapped to attention and gave him a stiff salute. He nodded in acknowledgement and set the warp pad to take him up to Derris Kharlan. He quickly and carefully stepped onto the pad and prepared to be teleported. He looked over to one of the guards who had his hand over the control panel and gave him a nod to tell him he was ready. He closed his eyes as the purple light that was being emitted from the pad intensified and he felt the odd sensation that accompanied teleportation.

When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was stars, the stars that made up the sky in the capital city of Welgaia on Derris Kharlan. He stepped off the large warp pad he had arrived on and began to make his way toward the familiar glass building the heads of Cruxis met in. The doors opened automatically when he approached them and then once he was inside he started toward the elevator. The elevator doors opened automatically and the voice key recognizer understood his command of "fourth floor".

This elevator ride was over before a minute passed and he waited for the doors to completely open before exiting. He began to walk slowly toward the large doors at the end of the hall the elevator had stopped on and paused in front of them. The doors here also creaked open automatically and granted him access to the room inside. He took a calculating glance around the room before he entered, the sight was a familiar one to him, there were three people sitting on hard stone chairs surrounding a large stone table. Both the chairs and the table were interracially carved specifically for the purpose of being used by these people. Two people sat on the side of the table on Kratos' right and one on the side on his left. The two people were a male and a female, the man with shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, and a white tuxedo and the woman with long green hair, green eyes, and an emerald green dress. The man who sat opposite to them had long blue hair tied back in a low ponytail, green eyes, and was wearing a white business suit. There was one empty seat left at the table, it was right next to the man with blue hair and across from the blond man. Kratos walked inside and sat down next to the blue haired man.

"Finally Kratos has chosen to join us." said the man next to Kratos who was leaning over the table with his fingers laced together creating a miniature church.

The woman gave the blue-haired man who was sitting across from her a weak disapproving glare. "I'm sure Kratos came as soon as he could. It does take longer to get from place to place on the surface where you can't teleport or use your wings Yuan."

"I understand that Martel, I'm just giving Kratos a hard time." said Yuan jokingly.

"Enough jokes, we have business to attend to. I'm sure Kratos has a lot to report to us from his time in the worlds." came the cool voice of the blond man.

"Indeed I do." started Kratos, "It seems that Cruxis doesn't have a very good reputation on the outside. In fact we are hated because no one knows what we do."

Martel looked shocked at that. "They hate us?" she asked with a stunned expression on her face, "they should love us because of all the propaganda from the church and the activities of the Desians!"

"It turns out that they lump us into the same category as the Desians, we are seen as being as bad, or even worse than them because we have 'stolen' the name of the angels who serve the goddess."

"Mithos! The whole reason we made up the stuff about the goddess was to get them to trust in us!" gasped Martel as she looked toward the blond man.

"That is just how we are seen in Sylvarant, in Tethe'alla it could be very different." mumbled Kratos.

"We need to do something to get the people to think better of us…" began Mithos, "do you have any ideas Kratos?"

"I was thinking that we could perhaps 'hire' some average people from the outside to help take away some of the fear the people have because they know nothing of us. Of course we would only show them certain things and only give them access to certain areas, but it would make the people believe that they know more about us without having them actually learn more about us."

"That sounds excellent." said Yuan, "but we would need to make sure we don't hire someone who actually wants to find our faults; we would need someone in particular…"

"We don't know anyone from Sylvarant, how can we find someone trustworthy?" muttered Mithos with a frown.

"I have just the person in mind…" said Kratos with a small smirk.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm not dead! Hehehe sorry for the delay, I've been busy working. I also don't have internet access available for my laptop which is where I do all my writing. I'm currently staying with some family by the coast and their wireless won't let me on… Anyway, I hope anyone who reads this likes it… I hope that it sounds good. Thank you for your reviews, they are the life of this story… If I got no reviews this story wouldn't be so long… Thanks again, I would love to hear your comments and how I could improve!

**Chapter Eight**

This sucked. This sucked royally. Anna had been out in bustling downtown Palmacosta looking for work for over half the day and there was none anywhere to be found! She had been to over a hundred businesses and all of them had told her to get lost. Well, that was way more polite than they had been…

She looked everywhere and there was absolutely positively no work anywhere in the biggest city in the entire world. As she walked down the busy streets of Palmacosta she saw many people like herself who couldn't find work, in fact she saw countless people who were far worse off then herself. The streets were littered with people begging for gald, many young children could also be seen begging for food. Seeing these sights pulled at Anna's heart strings, but she knew that she couldn't help them, money was getting tight for her as well. She knew that if she gave them any gald she would not be eating for awhile.

By three in the afternoon she was getting close to calling it quits. She began dragging her sore feet to the nearest bus stop and sorting the pieces of paper she had gathered on her journey with the few résumés she had left. Feeling very discourage Anna didn't even bother looking up as she boarded the bus and paid the passage fee. Sighing, she made her way down the narrow isle toward the back of the bus…That was her plan anyway; however, she didn't get more than three steps before something grabbed her arm.

Her initial reaction was to panic. She let out a small scream and tried to get out of the strong, viselike grip of the stranger.

"Calm down! Anna, it's only me!" came an oddly familiar calm voice. Pausing in her struggle, Anna looked at the person's face.

"Kratos?!" she gasped as her papers scattered all over the floor.

"I apologize for startling you, I didn't mean to."

"Startled isn't the word" panted Anna as she tried to calm herself down after the adrenaline rush she just had. As she began to get a hold of herself she realized that everyone on the bus was looking at her. 'Everyone on the bus' wasn't really a lot of people, two old ladies and the bus driver was 'everyone on the bus'; Anna however wasn't used to people staring at her the way they were so she quickly turned bright red.

Seeing her embarrassment Kratos offered her the seat next to him and they both sat down so the bus could begin to move. Anna was trying her best to no look at anyone on the bus and force down the blush that covered her face. As the bus navigated the streets on a predetermined route Anna calmed down and became curious as to why Kratos, someone she barely knew, who appeared cold and distant, would single her out and get her attention. Something wasn't right.

"So…um…why did you grab me?" asked Anna nervously.

"I had wanted to talk to you about a job opportunity since you were looking for work."

"A-a job? R-really? Wait, how did you know I was looking for work?" stuttered Anna. _'Darn stuttering, why now? How come talking to Kratos always makes me so nervous? Maybe it's because I don't know him…that's it, I must be nervous around him since he is a stranger, that's why it feels like my heart is beating so fast…'_

"I noticed your résumés earlier today when we were on the bus and I assumed that you, like the many other young people of Sylvarant were looking for your first job." Stated Kratos with a small smirk on his face.

"Wow…You figured out all that just from our short meeting this morning? You must be some sort of detective!"

Kratos chuckled at that, "No, I'm not a detective, I work for Cruxis's test department, coming to accurate conclusions is one of the many things I do."

"That's still amazing." Said Anna with a nod, "wait, is this a job with Cruxis that you are offering me?!"

"Indeed. You don't have to take the job if you don't want to, don't feel forced into it. Cruxis is currently looking into hiring several people, the jobs are mostly desk jobs, sorting paperwork and performing experiments, you may even get the opportunity to go out into other communities and perform some tests for us. If you want a job like that, or know anyone else who is looking for work, please let me know."

_'Is he serious?! This sounds like a dream job! Amazing! And I was starting to think that I would have to resort to manual labor and only earn a piece of gald a day!'_

"I would love a job like that! Are you really offering that to me?!"

"Yes…if you want it than consider yourself hired."

"Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!! This is amazing! I was looking for work all day and nowhere else is hiring! I would love to work for Cruxis!"

"I look forward to working with you, I'm glad you are excited about it. You can start tomorrow morning at ten, just come down to the Cruxis main building, the one you saw me go into this morning, and I will be waiting for you. And if you know anyone else looking for work feel free to bring them along, we would love to have them." Said Kratos with a smile. He then handed her a file folder. "All the information is in there, what to wear, where the building is located, and phone numbers you can call to contact me…things like that. If you have any questions after reading through that feel free to call me at those numbers and I will do my best to answer them."

"This seems like a dream… thank you so much for this; it means so much to me. I'm so happy, it feels like I'm going to cry." Said Anna with a shaky voice. Her eyes glistened and she began to rub them to get rid of the tears that were beginning to gather there. Kratos shifted uncomfortably in the chair next to Anna, he looked out the bus window and then reached up and pulled the cord that ran the length of the bus, just above the window.

"I believe this is your stop ma'am." He said with a grin, "sorry about making you cry, I'll try not to do it again… I hope you have a great evening, remember to tell anyone else you know who is looking for work that they can get a job with Cruxis. And remember to come to the Cruxis main building at ten in the morning."

Anna nodded, trying to stop the endless stream of tears that flowed from her eyes. She didn't trust herself to speak now so she just smiled and waved to Kratos as she climbed off the Elemental Cargo Bus. She paused after she got off and watched as the bus began moving down the empty street again.


	9. Chapter 9

New chapter! I did it! Hopefully this one is better than the first couple. I reread them a little while ago and I have to say thank you so much for reading this far. I know that it really sucked in the beginning. Thank you for your reviews and comments, I love reading them. If you have any tips for me feel free to email me. Thank you all so much, I hope you enjoy this one!

**Cruxis Corporation**

**Chapter Nine**

"Okay, this is a bit intimidating." stated Ashley as she looked up at the enormous crystalline structures that made up the Cruxis buildings.

"I knew it would be big, but not this big!!" said Emily in amazement. "Are we really going to work in there?" she asked Anna, a worried look crossing her gentle features.

"That's what Kratos told me; he said to tell anyone else looking for work and show up with them at ten in the morning." said Anna as she too nervously looked at the large glass building that shone in the bright morning sunlight. She then began to fiddle with the buttons on her black business jacket. She and the others had decided that they should make a good impression by wearing black business suits they borrowed from Ashley's cousin Jeremy.

"Wait, this guy's name is Kratos?" said Ashley. She gave Anna an amazed look as she asked this.

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't you know anything about the Martelian faith?" asked Ashley incredulously. "Kratos is the name of one of the three angels who protect the goddess Martel! Even their workers make a mockery of our beliefs!!"

"Maybe it's just a coincidence? I don't think that Kratos is the type of person to take advantage of people's beliefs…" muttered Anna. She looked nervously at Ashley, when she was met with a cold stare she tried her best to avoid it by eyeing the massive glass Cruxis structures. Anna then took a deep breath and tried to force down her apprehension. "Well, it's now or never" she said, walking up to the large glass doors and pulled them open, the other two young women followed closely behind her.

The inside of the building was just as intimidating as the outside, polished steel grey floor tiles reflected the morning sunlight that shone in through the large glass walls that faced the bustling street. A dark blue pathway flowed from the front door to the back of the room where it ended in a jagged 'W' shape. On the wall in the center of the 'W' was the Cruxis symbol, beneath the symbol was a large dark blue desk with a single young brunette woman sitting behind it. On the wall behind her and to her left was a large dark blue wooden door with a sign on it labeled 'Employees Only'.

Leaning on the desk talking to the woman behind it was another young woman. This one was wearing a long white lab coat and black slacks. She had shoulder length dark grey hair with a few strands that fell onto her stern facial features. At the trio's approach she stopped talking to the brunette and faced them expectantly.

"Are you Anna?" she asked looking the three over.

"I'm Anna, Kratos told me to come here at ten…" said Anna nervously.

"Yes, I was informed of the situation. Lord Kratos sent me down to meet with you and tell you what your jobs will be during this trial period." She said giving them each a calculating glance.

"Lord Kratos?" asked Ashley giving a suspicious glance at this strange woman.

"Yes, Lord Kratos. I advise you to refer to him as such during your time here. I was told to show you the ropes around here. Please follow me." She said turning and heading through the door labeled 'Employees Only'. The three gave each other a nervous glance and then quickened their pace to catch up with her. When they matched her pace she continued, "My name is Kathleen, you may address me as such or as Miss Deja. You will be working under me so feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the work you will be doing." The small group was heading down a narrow hall, as they turned a corner Anna saw that the low walls surrounding them were actually cubical walls. The entire area was filled with office cubicles, Anna didn't know how many, it looked like they continued on forever.

"…Are you a half-elf?" asked Ashley stopping. She was staring wide-eyed at Kathleen's ears. The rest of the group came to a stop and turned to stare at Ashley. At her remark Anna immediately looked as well. Her ears were pointed. Anna had never seen a half-elf before, she had heard of them in stories from her father and the more outspoken people of Luin, but she had started to believe that they were some sort of fictitious character. She had never thought that she would be talking to one now.

"Yes, I am a half-elf. If you have a problem with that you are requested to leave immediately." She said as she tucked a few stray hairs behind her right ear. At her remark Ashley looked like she was trying to suppress some question or remark that had sprang to her mind. Anna looked nervously at her companions and made up her mind.

"We don't have any problem with that, we were just surprised; that's all…" she mumbled under the arctic stare of the half-elf. This statement earned a smirk from Miss Deja.

"Lord Kratos said you wouldn't have a problem with it. I apologize, this was a test designed by Lord Yuan. He told me to make sure you weren't avid half-elf haters since the majority of Cruxis employees are, in fact, half-elves. Seeing as you passed the test: Welcome to Cruxis."

"Wait, this was a test?!" came Emily's startled reply. Kathleen nodded grimly at her. "What would have happened if we failed?"

"You would have been 'escorted' out of the building." came a cool reply. The group turned and to their surprise Lord Kratos was standing leaning against a cubical wall with his arms crossed.

"Kratos!" gasped Anna.

"Lord Kratos." said Kathleen with a slight bow. "I was wondering when you would pop up." She gave another small smirk, "Here they are, I've tried not to traumatize them too much for you, much to Lord Yuan's dismay." At that both she and Kratos began to chuckle quietly.

"Very well, I shall take them from here." said Kratos, Kathleen bowed to him and then turned and went down a narrow hallway between the cubicles, disappearing from sight. "Alright, follow me. I shall take you to where you three will be working." After saying that he quickly turned and began walking down the hall the way they had been going before the conversation about half-elves had occurred. The three gave each other another nervous glance and then hurried to catch up to Kratos.

Soon they made it to the end of the hall. At the end was an open space with several doors on the wall. Anna recognized these as elevators, they each had buttons to push to get on and numbers above them showing which floor they were on. They also had numbers on the doors; Anna didn't know how many there were, in front of them there were about twenty doors labeled twenty through to forty. Anna assumed there were more located elsewhere, but if they only went up to forty Anna had no idea. Kratos approached the one labeled twenty-three and pushed the button that was to the right of it. Anna noticed that some of them had two buttons and others only had one. The buttons had either an up or a down arrow painted on it. The one that Kratos selected had a single button with an arrow pointed up on it. The door opened in less than ten seconds, allowing them access to the interior.

Inside the elevator was small, the walls were silver and there was a narrow metal hand rail along the walls. The three entered the elevator after Kratos and turned to face the open door. Kratos then pushed the button with the highest number on it; three. Anna became a little confused at that, she had seen the outside, there were way more than three floors in this building, more like three-hundred. _'Perhaps each elevator can only go to certain floors, that's why there were so many'_ thought Anna.

"You three will be working on the third floor. Currently we are unsure of how long you will be staying with us, the more you please us the longer you will stay. Until you know your way around the bottom floor someone will always be there to escort you to this elevator, so you won't have to worry about getting lost. You will work in my department under Kathleen, so feel free to ask her or anyone else you meet any questions you may have. Bear in mind though that some of your questions may not receive an answer if they are about an inappropriate topic."

"What's an inappropriate topic?" asked Ashley.

"You will find out soon enough." Said Kratos as the elevator door slowly opened. It revealed that the third floor was set up much the same as the first floor, there were millions of cubicles and narrow hallways in-between. Kratos began leading them through the endless sea of office space towards the large windows located at the back of the room. At least that was were Anna thought they were going. Halfway towards the windows Kratos stopped and entered one of the cubicles. The cubicle was empty; there was no one in it. There was however a desk, a chair, a stapler, two wire baskets, a jar of pens, and some stamps and ink pads. "Anna, you will be working here." He pointed to Anna's two friends and then across the narrow hall. "You two will be working over there. It will be your job to receive documents and properly fill them out. You will be briefed on how to do that later. You will also be responsible for sending specific documents to certain locations. Any questions?"

"Are we going to be required to live here like all your other employees?" inquired Ashley.

"No, you three are different from us; you can come and go as you please, just make sure you do the work we assign you. Until you are comfortable navigating the building feel free to get Kathleen or anyone else to take you where you want to go. Ah, here is Kathleen now." said Kratos looking over the low cubicle wall. Anna wished she could see over it too, but alas it was just a little taller than her and her two friends.

"Yes, here I am." said Kathleen as she came into view. "Thank you for your help in explaining things My Lord, I will take it from here."

"Do all Cruxis employees like to just randomly show up?" asked Ashley with a small smirk. Kratos chuckled at that.

"Indeed we do. Anyway, I will see you three later. Try to remember all Miss Deja tells you and follow her orders as best you can. Good luck." said Kratos as he turned and left them without a second glance.


	10. Chapter 10

W00t! Next chapter! Sorry about the delay again, hopefully it's good though...thanks again for the reviews, really appreciate them!

**Cruxis Corporation**

**Chapter Ten**

It had been two days since the trio had begun working for Cruxis. They worked from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon sorting paperwork and stamping documents. At first they had been curious as to what exactly they were sorting and stamping, but most of it was written in some other language that the three didn't understand. Ashley was fuming, she said that it looked like the 'Angelic' language found in ancient church documents, but the other two were starting to ignore her crazy conspiracy theories.

They were starting to get used to the way things were done in Cruxis, so much of it was kept a secret from everyone, even the employees! It was a very nerve-wracking experience for Anna. She knew that they wouldn't tell them much when they had started, but this was ridiculous! And worst of all; she hadn't seen Kratos since that first day.

She had tried to find things out about him in secret, ask the people around what he was like, but none of the people knew what she was talking about. They knew there was someone called Kratos and that he was one of the heads of Cruxis, but aside from that they had no clue who she was talking about.

She and her roommates had developed a type of pattern for going to work; Anna was the one in charge of getting them up. Anna would wake up bright and early, usually around six. After taking a quick shower she would get some coffee brewing and start to read the daily newspaper while sipping on a fresh cup of joe. Reading the entire paper would usually take her to seven thirty, at which time she would begin to make breakfast. She typically made bacon and eggs, with a magitech fan blowing the scent up the stairs to the girls' bedrooms. This would normally tempt the other two to get out of bed.

However, today Anna wanted to try something different. She had found some old alarm clocks during her rummaging through the house and decided to let them be the ones to awaken the girls. She made sure to set them to maximum volume, just to make sure they would hear them.

The reason for the alarms was that Anna had wanted to get to Cruxis early and see what she could find out. She had asked around and from her understanding the people on the third floor were always working. They did get time off to eat and sleep, and that was what Anna was curious about. She wanted to find out where they ate and slept, mainly to see if she could find out if that was where Kratos was.

She realized that this was an odd reason, she had just met the man and yet she felt the need to see him, to talk to him, and mainly just to be in his presence. That was the entire reason she was walking toward the bus stop in the cool early morning light, just to see him and hear his voice.

She stopped with a start then. '_When did I start to feel this way towards him? He is a complete stranger, and yet… I-is this love?'_ As she thought that it felt like her heart skipped a beat. Love, she had never been in love before. The entire concept was foreign to her, but she didn't know how else to describe her irrational attraction to the man.

_'There's no time for this now! I can't be in love! It would never work out anyway! I-I mean, he probably doesn't even feel the same way…'_

She began to hesitantly make her way toward the bus stop bench that was just within her line of sight. She was trying desperately to think of another reason for going to the Cruxis building so early. What would she say to anyone who asked why she was there? She couldn't admit that she wanted to see Kratos…

_'I know! I could say that I'm interested in living there, like all the other employees! They couldn't turn me away if I said that! And it would give me more of a reason to be wandering around behind the scenes, maybe I could even find out where Kratos lives there and meet him! I wonder what Cruxis's policy is on dating employees? They must allow it since they don't let their employees leave, I mean, how could they meet anyone outside of Cruxis if they're not allowed out?'_

As she was thinking this she saw the lights of the bus, she made it to the bus stop a second before it did. She got on board and paid the fair of one Gald piece, she had thought about getting a bus pass, but money was really getting tight for her. This was another reason for looking into living at Cruxis, it looked like they provided free food and lodging to their employees so if she was an employee why not take full advantage of that?

She was all alone on the bus this morning; the bus driver was strict and didn't intend to partake in small talk with her. She sat down in one of the seats that faced the side of the bus, looking up and reading the numerous advertisements that were near the ceiling. Nothing caught her eye, so instead she looked out the window at the houses and yards they were passing. After a few moments they were into the business sector, now it would only be a moment or two before her stop came up.

She reached up and pulled the cord that told the bus driver to stop once she began recognizing where they were. After a moment the bus came to a stop, right outside the main Cruxis entrance. She made sure she didn't drop anything and left the bus after saying a quick "thank you" to the bus driver.

_'I hope the doors are open…'_ she thought, mind quickly envisioning worse case scenarios. She climbed the ten steps that led up to the doors two at a time and tried the door.

Yes. It was unlocked. _'I wonder if people have tried breaking in?'_ she thought. She walked in slowly and saw the receptionist; it was a different person each time she had come in. _'I wonder how many there are? There seem to be a lot of them for that one little job…'_

She gave the receptionist a smile and a small, "good morning" before she headed past the door labelled 'Employees Only'. She was getting used to walking through the bottom floor, but she still had to ask someone to point her in the right direction when she found herself at the elevator labelled '56' instead of '23'.

After she managed to find the right elevator, she got in and began to get nervous. As the doors closed she let out a sigh and pushed the '3' button. _'No turning back now.'_

It didn't take long before she was on the third floor, elevator dinging softly to let her know she had arrived. She looked around and saw that there were people working here, she could hear the furious scribble of pen on paper and some stamping going on, she also saw that many of the cubicles were still empty and that people were slowly trickling in from a door to her left. It was way at the other end of the room though and she could barely make it out. She decided that she would try there first.

She began to walk quickly through the rows of offices, peeking in each one as she was walking to see if she saw any familiar faces and to see if she could make out what they were doing. She noticed that many people had breakfast sitting on their desk. It looked like they were the keener ones, working quickly in-between bites.

Seeing all these people eating was starting to make her hungry, she had only wolfed down a piece of peanut butter and jam toast before coming here. All these breakfasts looked so good, eggs and hash browns, toast, French toast, mmmm pancakes…

Her stomach rumbled and she quickened her pace, maybe she would find where they got those delicious looking breakfasts beyond that door.

She reached the door just as someone was coming out, they saw her coming and held it open for her, "Thank you!" she said to the man, he gave her a smile and a small nod in return.

Beyond the door was a large room. There was a small step down into the main area where many tables were spread out. It looked like a giant restaurant! She noticed that there were many people eating at the tables, the tables were large enough that ten people could sit comfortably around them. On the other side of the room she noticed a large counter where people were lined up. It looked like you got your food from there and then you could sit anywhere in here or take it with you to your office and eat it there.

Anna walked over to the counter and began to look over the large menu that was posted on the wall past the counter. She wondered if they had to pay to get the food, and if they did, what kind of money did they use? Cruxis seemed to have its own little world going on inside of it so they must have their own monetary system, right?

The line moved fairly quickly and before long she was standing in front of a tall, blond half-elf. She was getting better at telling the difference between humans and half-elves, but she still didn't believe that they were really any different from her. She had heard stories from Ashley about how cruel they could be and how they could use 'magic' to control the elements, but they really didn't seem any different to her. They where still people, and that's how she treated them.

"And what can I get for you this fine morning?" he asked, he was standing in front of this odd-looking device. It looked like one of those 'computers' that had just been developed.

"Could I get the French toast?" she asked nervously, not knowing if she was even allowed to be here.

"Why certainly! And what kind of bread would you like that to be made of?" he asked, he taped the computer screen two times in two different spots and then paused to hear her answer.

"White is fine." She said giving him a nervous look. He was really good looking, it seemed like everyone at Cruxis was, it made her feel a little embarrassed to think that she might be compared to one of the perfect looking half-elves that worked here. "Um, I've never actually been here before… how do I pay for it?"

"You work for Cruxis, right?" he asked, she gave a small nod, "then there is absolutely nothing to worry about! Go have a seat over there and someone will bring it to you." He pointed to his right towards a long couch where several other people were sitting already. As Anna made her way towards the couch people were coming out of the large open doors that were located behind the counter, each one was carrying a tray of food. At there approach several of the people sitting down got up and took the food from them. After their food was taken away these people returned to what Anna suspected was the kitchen and the other people who had taken the food went to find a place to sit down and eat or to head back to their cubicles.

Anna sat down next to a young half-elf woman who was reading what looked like the newspaper, only it wasn't the Palmacosta Press, the only newspaper in town. This one was labelled 'The Cruxis Crusade'. Maybe there were newspapers for the employees? 'I wonder where you can get them…'

It didn't take long for her food to arrive, once she got it she began looking for a seat. She wandered all over the place; most of the tables were full by this point though… Just as she was beginning to give up and thinking about just going to her cubicle to eat it she saw a familiar red head. Kratos.

He was seated at a table in the corner, next to him was a small blond child and on his other side was…a large green and silver dog. At least it looked like a dog…but it had huge ears and really odd colouring, not to mention it was huge! It looked like someone could actually ride that thing like a horse!

She was a little nervous about approaching him with this large animal beside him, but she had wanted to see him since forever! Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the table and cleared her throat.

All three of the table's occupants looked up at her at that. At first she was met with a confused look from all three, but then recognition flashed in Kratos' auburn eyes.

"Anna! Good to see you." Said Kratos, "would you care to join us?" he asked, waving a hand to invite her to sit in the chair across from him.

"Thank you very much! I would love to sit with you." said Anna blushing slightly.

"Ah, so this is one of the people you suggested we hire." Said the blond boy, "Miss Anna, it is a pleasure to meet you." he said with a small smile. The large dog barked, as if agreeing.

"What are you doing here so early?" asked Kratos, getting straight to the point.

"Um, well, I was wondering if I could live here…like the other employees do." Said Anna softly, she was trying her best to force down the blush that was growing on her face. Kratos blinked at that, he gave her a questioning look. The blond boy also looked startled to hear that. "If it's a problem I don't have to, I was just curious is all…"

"It's no problem; you are most welcome to live here. We had thought that you would be against living here, that's why we didn't suggest it." Said the blond boy, he gave her a friendly smile, "how about you finish up that French toast and we'll get a room all set up for you! We'll also show you around, seems like you found the cafeteria just fine on your own though!" He snickered at that.

"Thank you so much!" said Anna, "but are you sure you're allowed to say that? Shouldn't we talk to someone higher up and confirm that I can stay here?"

The child looked stunned to hear that, he kind of froze up as he was about to say something, and then Kratos began to laugh softly at that, in fact the dog started to make snickering noises to… That was weird. Anna gave them all a confused look, that just seemed to make the two laugh harder, the dog started to roll on the floor making strange laughing noises.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for taking so long to put this one up. It took so long 'cause I was on the move. Just got back home yesterday. Now I should be able to update more often since internet connection is more accessable here than at my aunt's. That is if something else doesn't prevent me from writing like the Harry Potter book did… Hope you all like this chapter, hopefully it was worth the wait! Thanks for all the people who reviewed! They really got me off my bum and made me write this one! It would have taken a bit longer if not for them! So if you want more you gotta tell me!

Enjoy!

**Cruxis Corporation**

**Chapter Eleven**

"What's so funny?" asked Anna nervously, she hadn't thought that one little question would cause such a reaction from the most serious person she knew, and the weird green animal next to him. The animal appeared to be having a coughing fit; well it actually looked like it was laughing, but that can't be, animals can't laugh!

Kratos wasn't making quite as much of a scene as the dog was; however, it was such a change from his ordinary sombre behaviour, Anna had even started to believe that it was impossible for him to laugh like a normal human being. He was trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably at it, he then tried to hide the fact that he was laughing by holding his hand over his mouth to make it look like he was coughing.

Meanwhile the blond boy appeared to be giving his impression of a fish out of water. He was opening and closing his mouth without saying anything. It was quite humorous to Anna; she was struggling not to laugh along with Kratos.

'_I've never heard Kratos laugh like this before, and I doubt that has anything to do with the fact that I just met him… he doesn't appear to be the laughing type. But if this is what he's like when he's happy I should try to make him happy more often!'_ thought Anna, a little grin forming on her face as she imagined Kratos laughing with her at a joke she made.

The blond child had a bright red blush growing on his face; it looked like the initial shock that Anna's question had brought was over and now he was having trouble deciding whether or not he should join the laughter.

"This is annoying. I knew I shouldn't have come down here with you looking like this!" huffed the boy, "Good going Kratos! You made me look like an idiot in front of the new employee of the month, ofthethirdfloor…" he crossed his arms in front of his chest and began glaring at them. Anna could tell that he wasn't angry; his eyes sparkled brightly with amusement even though he was glaring. It took Anna a few seconds to register the last part of his speech.

"Employee of the month?" she said in confusion, "who is the employee of the month?"

"You are genius!" said the boy with a small smile, "for making Kratos laugh, I haven't seen him laugh like that since Martel accidentally dyed Noishe's hair pink! And congratulations! You get promoted because of this, now you will work on the fourth floor."

"Mithos, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, we just hired her and she has only just gotten used to the workload on the third floor…" said Kratos hesitantly, the way he was speaking to this child took Anna by surprise. He was speaking to him as though he was talking to someone who was equal to him, maybe even a little higher up, not like the way he spoke to Anna. Every time she had spoken to Kratos she had felt like he was treating her like a child, she was starting to think that he spoke that way to everyone, but after seeing this…

It aggravated Anna to hear Kratos doubting her. She had worked hard these past few days! Even though she hadn't worked here very long, maybe she deserved this promotion!

"Of course it's alright, it I say so than so shall it be!" he said, Anna snapped out of her thoughts of why she deserved this promotion when she heard this small boy say that famous quote. She recognized it immediately; it was from the Martelian Script. Even though Anna didn't know much about the church and its teachings she did remember hearing this line being said during the odd services she went to. If only Anna had paid more attention to the teachings! Her mother had been a devout believer, she had tried to get Anna to believe with her, but Anna was always too busy with her school work and hanging out with her friends. She did go occasionally, but not very often. She didn't think that any of the teachings would ever be put to practical use, but after starting to work for Cruxis she was beginning to think that she should have paid more attention to them.

Wait. Kratos called the boy Mithos right? Anna didn't need to have attended church in order to catch that one. That was the same name as the legendary hero of the ancient Kharlan War! Maybe Ashley was on to something…

Mithos gave them a small bow and continued speaking, "I should probably be going now. Martel will have a fit if she sees that I'm not doing my job. Enjoy your breakfast. Kratos can show you around and get your room all set up for you." With that he turned and left, out the doors Anna had come from.

"I apologize for both my and my friend's behaviour. And I apologize for not letting you eat your breakfast, it's probably cold by now…" said Kratos, he then motioned to the seat next to him, "please have a seat and enjoy your breakfast, we can talk after that."

Anna felt her stomach rumble and quickly sat down with a small "thank you" and began to devour the French toast. It was a little cold, but the inside was nice and warm and fluffy. It tasted so good. She put tons of maple syrup on it and it tasted even better. It tasted like five star restaurant meal. Soon it was all gone and Anna's stomach was happy. Now she could concentrate on the more important matters before her, such as figuring out who that kid was and what his relation to Kratos was. And more importantly; why wasn't Kratos eating breakfast?

"Where's your breakfast?" she asked, as soon as she had said that she felt foolish. The man could have eaten breakfast before she had come here, and she had no right to know. Kratos looked a little taken off guard by that question, a frown made its way onto his handsome features.

"I'm not hungry at the moment, I just was talking with my coworkers, and Noishe here wanted something to eat, so we came here since it was close by."

"And not because it has the best food?" asked Anna, licking the syrup off her fork.

"It is my understanding that all of the cafeterias in Cruxis use the same methods and ingredients for cooking their meals. Therefore it is only logical that they all produce the same quality of food." said Kratos with a straight face.

"Well, yeah, logically. But if the heart isn't put into it you can tell, no matter how good your ingredients are." replied Anna. She knew very little about cooking professionally, but her mom had taught her how to cook when she was a child, and she knew that sometimes when she didn't put 'love' into a dish the dish tasted bland, or just plain off.

"If you believe that, so be it." Muttered Kratos, it didn't look like he believed Anna. She frowned at that. How can this man who seemed so intelligent at times be so ignorant of this, the most important, issue? Anna would just have to work hard to make him a believer!

"Anyway, let's go. If you're going to work on the Fourth floor I better get you all settled in." said Kratos. As he got up the green dog next to him also got to it's feet and turned in the direction of the doors that Mithos had left through. Kratos offered a hand to Anna, and together, with the large dog, they left the cafeteria.


End file.
